A condiment made by mixing the ground seeds of the mustard plant with a combination of…

squeeze lemon juice

100g ripe brie, cut into chunks

Method

Mix 50g butter and flour into a paste (known as beurre manié, see notes, below). Chill to firm for about 30 mins. Heat milk to boiling point with the onion, spices and bay leaf, then simmer gently for 5 mins. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Taste milk for flavour.

Strain the milk into a large pan, pressing down on the onion to extract the maximum of flavour. Place the pan back on the heat and gradually whisk in the butter paste, adding in small pieces until you have a thick sauce.

Season, then leave to cool for 3-4 mins. Whisk in egg yolks, grated gruyère and cheddar, plus two-thirds of the parmesan. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Check seasoning, leave to cool. Can be made 2 days ahead – bring to room temperature before continuing.

Brush the insides of a soufflé dish (approx 20 x 8cm deep) with the remaining 25g butter, using upward brush strokes. Coat the base and sides evenly with some parmesan and freshly ground black pepper. Chill to set. Cut the gruyère slice into diamond shapes.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Coat a large, grease-free bowl with the lemon juice (see tip, below). Whisk the egg whites in the bowl, then whisk a third of them into the cheese mixture, to loosen. Carefully fold remaining egg whites into cheese mixture until well mixed, but still light.

Spoon half the mixture into prepared dish. Dot with brie and top with remaining mixture. Gently level the top. Arrange gruyère on top, scatter with remaining parmesan. Bake for 10 mins. Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, bake for 15-20 mins. The soufflé should be evenly risen and slightly wobbly. Serve immediately – the centre will be soft, but will thicken slightly when served.

Recipe Tip

For the base of a savoury soufflé

Make a flour and butter paste (a beurre manié). This is whisked into hot, well-flavoured milk – add extra flavour with curry spice, paprika or cayenne. Beurre manié paste can be made in bulk, rolled into a sausage and chilled or frozen. Then you can cut chunks to use for other soufflés.

Recipe Tip

To make a sweet soufflé

Use a base of crème patisserie – a thick egg yolk and flour custard. To prevent it boiling too soon, add a little sugar to the milk while it heats.

Recipe Tip

Gordon’s tips

Use a balloon whisk and spatula for mixing bases, and an electric mixer for firm egg whites. The slightest amount of grease prevents egg whites firming; a clean bowl and a squeeze of lemon juice rubbed around cleans it sufficiently.

Recipe Tip

Gordon’s tips

Eggs are critical for your soufflé to rise properly. Make sure you beat yolks into the hot base mixture 1-2 mins after cooking, then allow to cool. Beat the whites to stiff, but not dry, peaks. Add the whisked egg whites in two stages – a third beaten into the base to loosen it, and the rest gently folded in. This stops the mixture from splitting.

Recipe Tip

Gordon’s tips

I add extra flavour with chunks of ripe brie or wilted spinach for savoury soufflés, and fruit purées on the base of sweet ones.

Recipe Tip

Gordon’s tips

It’s essential to heat the oven before baking and get the oven shelf position sorted first. Don’t open the oven door until almost the end of cooking. A cooked soufflé can be left in the oven for a few extra minutes if the temperature is turned right down.

Recipe Tip

To help the mixture rise

Brush the dish sides with softened butter, using even, upward brush strokes (from bottom of dish to rim – see step 4). If you like, chill to set, brush again with more butter, then coat in grated parmesan and coarsely ground black pepper. For sweet soufflés, use ground nuts or grated chocolate. Chill the coated dish to set before filling.

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Comments, questions and tips

I will say it will cook nicely in a souffle cup, approx. 100gms of the mixture should go in to it, more will cause uncooked souffle inside.
It always works for me.

aerialview

9th Mar, 2013

2.05

Made this exactly to recipe and with disappointing result. The souffle came out uncooked. Checking the recipe, the total cook time is 44-45 mins but Gordon asks us to cook it first for 10mins at 200c then for 10-15 mins at 180c, in total 15-20 mins less than the overall cook time. Why has nobody spotted this error before? I am sure the recipe is delicious but what are the correct cooking times?

10gdayki

4th Sep, 2012

I really enjoyed making this, my only problem was when I cut into it, it wasn't quite cooked, so i popped it back in the oven and when I too it out it was fine- it was very tasty!

spdk1969

21st Mar, 2012

4.05

Great recipe and came out really tasty.
A favourite in the house already.
I did however have to bake it for a total of 32mins, and the
prep time quoted is a bit optimistic in my opinion.
Tastes wonderful!

lirva_may

26th Aug, 2011

the type of flour can be plain or self raising, ive tried it both ways and doesnt make much difference, i wouldnt use strong bread flour though,
also upon experimenting, using individualise bowls, the time needed to be reduced by about 8 mins, but only after the temperature was reduced

donovag

21st Aug, 2011

Absolutely delicious. The brie is a delightful surprise and a challenge to people who try to guess ingredients because its not in every bite. It would have been helpful to have had the recommended souffle dish size - I have always used a 1.5 quart dish with great success since most souffle recipes are for 2 to 4 eggs, but this needed a 2 quart dish.

colinaustin

18th Aug, 2011

Millsbomb asked what seems to be a perfectly reasonable question but doesnt seem to have had the courtesy of a reply
Any takers?
Thank you

lirva_may

10th Jun, 2011

if i use individual souffle dishes, should i reduce the cooking time and by how much??

milliemunro

11th Feb, 2011

Is it plain or self raising flour?

claremischief

24th Oct, 2010

5.05

This was also my first attempt at a Soufflee and so followed the recipe to the letter and they worked out perfectly! Im making them again for another dinner party next month but will be omitting the brie as it completely disappeared and seemed pointless - you might have to have a best quality one perhaps!? I served it with a rocket side salad with a self-devised branston pickle themed dressing and toasted nut chips and it went down really well! Its totally worth the time needed to construct it - especially as you can do more than half of it a day or so before!

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